Gone – As the second episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live begins, a group of walkers is shown being set on fire. Six years after the bridge, Michonne Hawthorne (Danai Gurira) talks about losing Rick (Andrew Lincoln) only to find out he is alive. She tells Elle what has happened before asking for a horse. A man in the background urges Elle to just give her a horse, but Elle would like Michonne to stick around. Michonne explains she needs to go to Bridgers Terminal. Elle warns her not to go north right now. Nat comes in and complains about Elle’s decisions until he learns that Michonne saved them.
Nat offers to give Michonne her own wagon. She tells him she is going to Bridgers Shipyard. Nat tells her that’s a stupid plan because of the migration and horde. Outside, Nat urges Michonne to stick with them for the night. Bailey (Andrew Bachelor) and Aiden tell her they’ve got her a horse. Nat (Matthew August) still wants Michonne to stick around so they can equip her. She reluctantly agrees to stay one night. They’re going to teach her about scream sticks. Before she leaves, they tell Michonne she is going to find him. Nat isn’t so sure about that. Michonne asks why they stay when they leave people to die. She believes they’re too smart not to find another way. Nat says she’ll be out of range soon if she isn’t already.

He shows her how she can still talk to them and show them when she gets back. Nat still believes this is suicide. Before long, she runs into the horde. When a walker blows up, the walker’s head knocks her off her horse. She sees two explosions next to her causing the walkers to separate. Bailey and the others catch up with her because they’ve decided to tag along. Later, they sit around and talk about Michonne falling off her horse. Nat tells her about the purple explosions. He admits it was time to go a long time ago. Bailey thanks Michonne for waking them up. Nat says they’ll take Michonne as far as she needs. When they’re alone, Aiden admits to Michonne that she’s pregnant. She tells Michonne why Bailey was out there.

Michonne urges Aiden to go back with Bailey. Aiden says they’re close to Bridgers Terminal and they want to be there when she finds Rick. When they head out, Michonne speaks to Nat about his mom. He says his dad wasn’t in the picture. He had bullies so he started burning and blowing up things. Nat explains how his mom’s boyfriend taught him to build things instead. An airplane drops bombs on them. Once the bombing stops, Michonne and the others struggle to see and breathe. They manage to enter a store and place Aiden on a bed inside. Aiden tells Michonne to go back to her babies and not to risk it. They realize there is a medical plaza back there and they might have oxygen tanks. Michonne tells them to find something to tie Aiden to the bed.

She urges Bailey not to fall asleep next to Aiden. Before long, Aiden turns and Michonne has to deal with her. After she kills Bailey, Nat thanks her because he couldn’t do it. He tells Michonne she needs to go home because it’s been too long. They end up taking chlorine gas. As they recover, Nat says you have to know when to go and when to give up. Michonne tells him that his stepdad, Danger, didn’t give up on him. Later, she tells Nat she marked a map so he can go to Alexandria. Nat says they can leave in the morning, but he wants to stop by his wagon first. Once they reach the terminal, Michonne finds a boat with a sign saying “safe harbor” on the front. Nat says the boat where she found Rick’s boat was there last, but the people are all burned up.

He says her phone says “Believe a little bit longer” in Japanese. Michonne believes he would’ve found his way if he was alive. Nat says she can still believe a little longer and go back to her kids. He insists it isn’t giving up. When they’re walking back, they see an airplane above them. Nat manages to shoot it twice. He kills two of the people on board before the other two begin shooting at them. Nat shoots the others and Michonne goes in for the kill. She pulls off one of the guy’s masks and finds Rick. Michonne tells him that Judith is okay. Rick insists he isn’t with them. Rick warns her that more are coming. He urges her to say she has another name and lie about seeing the soldiers being attacked.

Nat comes over to find out what’s going on only to be shot and killed. Rick asks if she has anything on her that can tell them about her or Alexandria. He takes everything and puts her sword in Nate’s hand. Rick says they’re going to be separated, but he’ll find her as soon as it’s safe. Once she is taken into custody, Michonne calls herself Dana. She is told they’re on a base outside the city that’s a remnant of the life they knew. Michonne is asked how she feels about never being able to leave. She claims what’s there is what she’s been looking for. Once she is released, Rick catches up with her and takes her somewhere private. He says they believed her before she learns about his hand. Rick is confident they’ll get away. They talk about the soldiers killing people.

Rick says the ones in red go out sometimes and come back covered in blood. Most of them don’t know what they do. He doesn’t think they can stop them. Michonne insists they’re going to get home. Once she is alone, she climbs a ladder and looks around. When Rick returns to his home, he finds a woman waiting for him. She says this is an investigation but she wants to keep it off the books. Jadis Stokes knows that Michonne found him. Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) warns Rick that the people he loves will die if he tries to escape with Michonne. She questions what the heck he is doing.

 

The Walking Dead – The Ones Who Live Review

This episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live was okay, but the episode leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, very little happened throughout the episode. Minor characters were built up only to be killed off. Some of the performances weren’t spectacular although that would’ve been easy to ignore if there was more action and excitement.

Some scenes were unrealistic given the situation and how long it has been since the initial outbreak. For instance, it was very unlikely that Michonne and her new friends would’ve found an unscathed store with a bed that was still freshly made or a medical supply store that was still untouched. Truthfully, this was a pretty dull episode with more lengthy dialogue and making out while the pacing dragged to a halt.

For a short season, TWD The Ones Who Live should be doing more to build interesting stories for characters that are actually going to stick around. While watchable, expectations should be properly managed to avoid being disappointed with the story through two episodes. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Walking Dead – The Ones Who Live can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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